Did Doc Rivers cost the Magic Tim Duncan?

Tim Duncan is widely seen as the greatest Spur of all-time after playing his entire 19-year career in San Antonio and bringing them five titles. But it turns out that Clippers coach Doc Rivers may have played a big part in that legacy.

In the third quarter of the Clippers’ win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, Clippers analyst (and longtime teammate of Duncan’s on the Spurs) Bruce Bowen revealed a bombshell of a story during the broadcast on FOX Sports Prime Ticket. He said Duncan considered signing with the Orlando Magic as a free agent in 2000, but Rivers, then the coach of the Magic, denied Duncan’s request to have family ride on the team plane and lost him from there.

Bruce Bowen's story about the Magic losing out on Tim Duncan in free agency because Doc would not let family on the team plane (h/t @Wells_P) pic.twitter.com/t66Fj0mbfV

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) December 21, 2017

“When Tim went out to meet with Orlando, he asked this question, ‘Can family come on the flights to some games?'” said Bowen. “And from what I understand, Doc said ‘No,” and that’s where he lost Tim Duncan.”

Indeed, it was just last year that Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel shared an article he wrote about just how close Duncan came to signing with the Magic in that fateful summer of 2000. He essentially confirmed Bowen’s story that the strict policy from Rivers about team flights was a deal-breaker for Duncan. The forward wanted to bring his longtime girlfriend on some flights, which is something Gregg Popovich apparently accommodated.

Of course, Duncan returned to the Spurs and won four more championships with them after his first in 1999, cementing his legacy as an all-time great and helping establish San Antonio as the NBA’s model franchise. As for Rivers, this might not be the first time he cost one of his teams a top player.